can we Rethink memorial of Dandi March?
when large numbers of salt workers do not have assurance of regular
supply of fresh drinking water, when their children can not get the
quality of education they deserve , should not a memorial of Gandhi
making salt have some bearing on the life of the salt workers? i fully
understand the need for modest but good quality tourist facilities to
welcome those wish to experience the history. A small memorial at
site may also be useful to commemorate the memory of the moment. But
to spend more than forty crores on memorial and not even a fraction
on the well being of salt workers completely defies any logic. After
all, Gandhi would not have approved of this plan. He was a simple
fakir and always said, whenever you do any thing, think how would
that action affect the lives of the poorest. In fact he did not even
want the ministers of independent India live in palatial bungalows. He
wanted the building which houses our President converted into a
hospital for the poor. He could never imagine that leaders of a
country which has so many poor people then (and still), could live in
opulence reminiscent of colonial legacy. BUt of course we ignored him
then and we ignore his ideals today.
what could we do differently? If we discuss with panchayat of each
village on the way and mobilise them to build outstanding gyan vana (
knowledge forest ) on a small patch with the help of children, ensure
that all dalit children come to school and get same respect as all
other children, conserve water where it falls in a meticulous manner,
and create facilities for old women and men so that in the evening of
life they do not feel neglected, build care centres for abandoned,
old or lame animals etc. Matching grant to all the villages on the
way will create living memorial of Gandhian ideals. People who come to
walk on Dandi route will get far more inspired by experiencing Gandhi
in real life than seeing buildings and structures. I can understand
if mandarins in delhi dont understand the spirit of Gandhian legacy
but how can i assume that people in the villages on the dandi route
will not understand. I think we have not talked to them. Let us
involve them in creating a consensus in creating a living memorials
enroute to the historic place but also in kutch and elsewhere. I know
one cant be a substitute of another but memorial to Gandhi can be
authentic only if we can make his ideals evident to visitors and
future generation through a living legacy. let the life of salt
workers also reflect the legacy of Gandhi at long last. Governor
Gandhi had switched off lights in his house in Kolkata for a while
to experience the suffering of people facing shortage of
electricity. will he help erase the design of Dandi memorial to show
similar solidarity with salt workers and community needs on the way.
environmental conservation, yes but rest…….. Let us not bury
Gandhi’s ideals once again under the weight of tonnes of concrete and
bricks. He wants to live in our life.
Anil K Gupta
